


Political Origins

by STARSdidathing



Series: The "You Belong With Me" Series [71]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Arranged Marriage, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Feels, Forced Marriage, Hopeful Ending, Light Angst, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Feels, M/M, Marriage, Married Couple, Not Canon Compliant, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pining, Pining Loki (Marvel), Possibly Unrequited Love, Unspecified Setting, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 02:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17437958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/pseuds/STARSdidathing
Summary: It was just a political marriage; a way to strengthen the ties between realms. It was meant to be nothing, but to Loki, it was everything.





	Political Origins

**Author's Note:**

> I got a anon prompt back when I was still accepting prompts that dealt with Arranged Marriage. This is probably not what they wanted, and I wouldn't even say it was directly inspired by it, but um, here is some arranged marriage fic? ^^'

It was just a political marriage; a way to strengthen the ties between realms. 

It was meant to be nothing, but to Loki, it was everything.

Loki hadn’t intended to fall in love with his husband, but Anthony was perfect. He matched him in every possible way and Loki was helpless to do anything but fall.

Yet, unlike Loki who had been born a prince and never expected to marry for love, Anthony was not the same. He was forced into the position and furious about the disruption to his life on Midgard.

He lost a lover - a mortal woman whom he would have married had he been given the chance. He also lost a home, forced to move to Asgard to be with Loki.

Anthony resented Loki for the first few years, but eventually he began to thaw, realising that Loki had no more say in the matter than Anthony did.

They began to do more than simply share a home. They began to converse and get to know one another. They began to like each other, to become friends.

They had only shared a bed the first night, a single act of consummation before Anthony moved to another room in the house. But as their relationship developed, so did their willingness to return to their marriage bed.

Neither of them were men who would break the bonds of a marriage, no matter how political. They would have no other lovers for as long as they were wed - which, considering the immortality given to Anthony, would now be many centuries.

But, where Anthony considered him friend, lover, companion and fellow trickster, Loki considered him far more.

It was meant to be a loveless, political marriage; instead Loki had fallen for his husband. 

Yet, Loki knew that Anthony still loved his woman. He longed to see her, to _be_ with her, but refused to venture back to Midgard and see someone he could never have.

Loki tried not to let it hurt him. He tried instead to show Anthony things he could enjoy on Asgard and the other realms. He tried to make his husband happy. 

They had been together five years and Loki knew it was foolish, but he still ventured into Anthony’s lab to speak with him.

The former mortal was bent over a desk, fiddling with his Midgardian electronics. He found comfort in the items of his realm and Loki made sure they were brought to him regularly from his home world.

“How do you fare, Anthony?”

“Yeah, fine,” the other man answered distractedly.

“I thought we might have dinner on Alfheim tonight,” Loki remarked casually.

Anthony frowned and glanced away from his workbench. “Why?”

 _It is our anniversary_ , Loki thought but didn’t say.

“I wished for a change from Asgard. We might stay a few days, visit the libraries.”

Anthony brightened at the thought of new knowledge. He pointed his tool at Loki. “You got a deal.”

Loki’s smile wasn’t completely genuine, but Anthony didn’t know him well enough to notice it. “I shall inform you an hour before we leave.”

Anthony nodded but he was already turning back to his work. Loki hesitated, wishing to touch his husband’s shoulder, stroke fingers through his hair and press a kiss to his skin. He did none of those things, instead he slowly backed away and left Anthony to his projects.

Loki had never expected to have a spouse who would love him, he had never expected to _care_ when they didn’t, but Loki could not change what had happened, he could only make the most of it.

 _It has only been five years_ , he told himself, _give it another five, give it a decade, give it a **hundred** , perhaps there might be a chance._

Loki might forever live in the shadow of a mortal woman, but perhaps if he was careful, perhaps if he _tried_ , there could still be a space for him inside Anthony’s heart.

He might never be his husband’s first choice, but maybe he could be more than Anthony’s frustration and regret.

**Author's Note:**

> This actually meant to be more angsty. More "Tony would never think of Loki as anything but his forced husband and Loki knew that and silently loved and kept him as close as possible" but I ended it with a kind of _hope_ where they were _friends_.
> 
> I can't help myself, lol.
> 
> I like to think that Loki continues to lowkey court and love Tony. He continues to hold the hope close to his heart while doing everything in his power to make his husband think well of him.
> 
> And then there is that time when Tony has to go back to Midgard for political reasons and Loki is a little bit terrified of him seeing Pepper but he swallows it down and wishes him well. Loki is a mess of emotions but he lets him go. Tony and Pepper see each other and hug and talk. They both work out that while they regret how they had to leave things, they've both moved on.
> 
> Tony comes back feeling a lot better about things. He's a little surprised when he arrives via bifrost and smiles at Loki and the other man hugs him. He hugs Loki back and quips a joke, but that's the first moment where he starts to pay more attention to Loki. He starts to see Loki as more then a friend and guy he's stuck with for eternity. He starts to contemplate Loki as a _partner_ and husband. He starts to fall in love too, and while he's falling, he works out Loki is already in love with him too.
> 
> And idk, happy ending and eventually love confessions and being happily married together for eternity. ♥


End file.
